ree vs run, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ree” is a noun and “run” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,193
“ree” frequency rank: #309
“run” frequency rank: 37502
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ree	run
Definition	Alternative form of rei (“Portuguese real”).	To move swiftly.

Where the eye mixes ree and run

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch

ree

3 ch

run

Why the eye confuses ree with run

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ree is /ɹiː/ while run is /ɹʌn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ree is recorded at frequency rank #37,193, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹiː/. run is at rank #309, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹʌn/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 37502, this pair ranks #294,010 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ree vs run

Shared letters: r. Private to "ree": e. Private to "run": nu.

"ree" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "run" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ree" for "run" ever safe?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ree" is a noun and "run" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

In ordinary English text, does "ree" or "run" show up more?

"run" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #309 in our English list, against #37,193 for "ree". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

Full dictionary entry for "ree" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "run" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #294,010 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"ree" and "run" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ree vs Rua". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #294,010 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.